Out of all the things to spend your money on...
According to a rumor tweeted by TechEye, Microsoft could be looking to expand their social online business by buing up Linden Labs, the folks that developed the online bizarro world we know as Second Life. Here's what the tweet said:
A little birdie told me that Microsoft may have silently offered to buy Linden Lab this week
Man, if this was off base I'd be looking to go all Duck Hunt on that little birdie.
It seems that Linden has been entertaining offers, and if the rumors are right, Microsoft stepped up. I don't know why they'd want to do that. Look at PlayStation Home. That's a lot like Second Life, but I don't think that anyone would call it a success.
Microsoft May Purchase Second Life Developer Linden Labs [1UP]
Dale North is Destructoid's Editor-In-Chief, a founding editor, and specialist in Japanese gaming. An accomplished musician, Dale was reporting from Japan during the earthquakes of 2011. Luckily, he got the fuck out alive and is home in America now with his wife and beloved corgi, Einstein. Dale is also a co-founder of Destructoid's sister anime site
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Contest:
8:30 PM on 09.30.2010 | 
SECOND HOME. Yay, another "app" to download once, ponce around for five minutes in, then /uninstall forever.
Here's a tip Microsoft: invest in a proper game studio. Trust me on this.
Yeah, I agee. We just have to look what happened with Rare.
Hey I'm not saying it will happen, but it will happen.
I just don't understand why they haven't bought Epic. I'm half expecting Sony to one day as a huge slap in the face. lol
If MS can find a decent use for the technology in Second Life, it's really a double whammy for them, because they can say, "Look at this amazing application of the .NET Framework!" All while integrating their official framework and tossing out Mono.
However, it's Second Life, so the whole thing is still kinda wtf.
Maybe if you count the Chewbacca 30th anniversary costume for Avatars (and Playstation 'Homies'),that's a fur suit right there.
if they wanted to let players create their own Conkers, Berris or Battletoads, they would have already. of course, if all of the same tools were provided as one has in Second Life, there are far more interesting, freaky things you would see show up before some zoomorphosed Milo (maybe an anthropomorphic version of Milo from Milo and Otis?).
This would just be Microsoft's answer to Home, a space to use one's avatars for more than a dashboard ornament.
I don't know what they're waiting for to buy Epic.
They surely love to lose exclusives, i'm not against multi-platform games, but Microsoft isn't very clever.
Sony has Naughty Dog, Insomniac, Quantic Dream, etc, etc...
Microsoft has...Rare?
And I really love my 360. This makes me sad.
Considering that Microsoft and Rare censored Conker's Bad Fur Day even further than Nintendo did(believe it!), I'd say that Second Life basic is all that anyone would get.
I think I'm in love
It..was..a..joke?
Yah, right, because we all know that Sony has never copied someone else. How could they...
This sort of deal is nothing new if you keep up in business news.
The developers behind it really need to realize that they need to make their product look good if they want people to stick around, and not bleach their eyes after taking a look.
Anyways, this is a rumour that apparently started from a tweet by a banned player that one wannabe news source blogged about before everyone else decided it was news. I'll believe it when I see it.
oh well here's hoping that some devs just ship to the ps3
No it isn't.
It's also a brilliant place to market the entire announcement list from each conference directly to the users.
i always jump in there for the E3 space or whatever is on at the time.
It's not a game, it's not a social network, it's a 3D representation of you being able to explore Sony's products. Watch trailers, see conference speeches, chat to other users etc etc.
I very rarely go into home, but whenever i do there's something new and interesting to look at, watch or listen to.
It's funny that MS may possibly want a slice of that same pie, because it's hardly AMAZING, but it's there, it's free, it's optional, and it often has interesting stuff to do/see.
Home - i wouldn't pay £40 for it. no way, but as it's free, i'll drop in now and then.
Quit bitching and uninstall it.
Pro-tip: Use spell check.
"...business by buing up Linden Labs,..."
If MS added it as some kind of free Gold perk, I might fuck around with it again just to fill my awkward social experience since I quit PSU.
And, of course, to make a hot catgirl.
Who knows. They could just be looking to shut it down, saving humanity from one more evil... or they could be trying to put together their own Frankenstein.
What a bunch of clowns.
Fucking Yiffers! Theyre gonna be all over LIVE!
Magnalon: Microsoft have a long history of ripping off ideas, but how exactly is buying another company copying?